Consuming Direct Control: Resurrection
by Wordsmith 17
Summary: Alex Mercer should be dead. But the galaxy isn't quite finished with the Blacklight virus yet. Adopted from Hyliian.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! I am pleased to announce that I have adopted this story. Before you read this, you may want want to check out the rest of the story, by Hyliian. Anyhoo, just sit back and enjoy the crossover-y goodness._

Alex Mercer had not been having a good day. Consuming a Reaper? Piece of cake. Survive the resulting explosion? Now that was where the problem was. He was bulletproof, more or less explosion proof, snide comment proof, but not Reaper proof. So when he came to on a desert planet, he wasn't actually too surprised to find out that he was just a sort of puddle of cybernetic Mercer-goo. He groaned inwardly. Reassembling after this would be difficult.

Shepard stood over the button that would send the asteroid hurtling into the Mass Effect relay that the Reapers would soon enter through. The resulting explosion, however, would destroy the Batarian homeworld. "Ten seconds!" Yelled Miranda, but the words sounded muffled and far off. What should she do? What COULD she do? _What would Alex do?_ The thought surprised her. It helped, though. "Five seconds! Four! Three!" She pressed the button.

Alex sat back on his suitcase as the civilian liner made the jump to Earth. It had taken him weeks to get his strength back, feeding off rodents and bugs. Now, he was hiding on board the Liner, in the cargo hold, having used the form of a rat to sneak aboard. A very heavy rat. He grinned. He was going home.

Shepard stood in front of the defence committee, trying her hardest to keep a straight face at the ridiculous tone they were taking. "Our preparations..." "Are going to count for absolute jack shit!" She had finally had enough of this. "The Reapers are coming, and nothing, I mean NOTHING, is going to stop them unless you give me and my team a chance to go and do what we do best." "We are confident in our ability to destroy the enemy. Do you have anything else you want to say?" "Yes, I do. Have you ever fought a Reaper?" "No, in fact." "Well, I have. It was the most powerful thing in the known universe, and only the sacrifice of Alex Mercer brought it down. We have no more Alexes to sacrifice." She let her words sink in. This would convince them. "You may not go." Well, so much for that. "This council is adjourned." A man ran in with a datapad, red in the face. "We have just lost contact with our outer stations. Something big, coming our way."

Alex grunted awake as the tannoy came on. "Attention, this is your captain speaking. Owing to the recent reports of an unidentified fleet near Saturn, we will have to turn back." Alex swore. The Reapers. The thrice-damned sonofabitch Reapers. He didn't think twice. He pulled a pistol out of a suitcase near him, and yanked out the mass field generator. He attached this to a piece of paneling that he tore from the interior of the hull. This would propel him to faster than light speeds, in theory. He grabbed on, and kicked open the bay doors. Emergency Mass Effect fields kicked in, holding the air in place. He held tight to the makeshift sled, and jumped.

The atmosphere in the chambers was tense. Anderson had left, to get the Marines ready. The Reapers were at Mars. The Moon. Earth. Shepard looked out of the window. The sky filled with ships. Reapers. One of them pointed its weapon towards the chambers. Shepard yelled. "Clear the room!" And the world turned to fire. She ducked into a doorframe as the chambers exploded behind her. Something hit her on the head, and her vision blurred. A group of Husks rounded the corner, and advanced. So this was to be her end. No glorious death in battle, no selfless sacrifice. Beaten to death by Husks. She prepared to die with dignity. And then a something fell through the ceiling. The something killed the Husks in seconds. It then ran over to her. "Shepard." She gave a start. She knew that voice. Alex Mercer extended a hand down to her. "Shepard. Get up, the planet's on fire." She jumped up, and pulled him into a fierce hug. "I missed you." She whispered in his ear. "Shepard, you seem to have forgotten that I have personal space issues. I am currently fighting the urge to rip you apart and eat you." She pulled away. "What happened to your face?" "Long story." "I've got time." Suddenly, a blast from a Scion turned the wall to dust. "I haven't got time. Later."

The Normandy swooped down, the ramp opening as it went. Kaidan was on the ramp, with a marine Alex didn't recognise behind him. "Jump, Shepard!" Alex could see that she would never make it. He picked her up, and threw her. She landed safely, and he made the jump himself. Anderson ran up on the ramp. "Anderson, jump!" Screamed Shepard. Anderson shook his head.

"You've seen the people here." He pointed to a group of Marines laying down fire and evacuating civilians in Kodiaks. "They need a leader!" And then, with a wry smile, he added, "I never really enjoyed being Councillor anyway!" And with that, he turned and readied his pistol. "Go to Mars, try and find something useful. A group there were researching a secret project, but we've lost contact. Oh, and Mercer?"

"Yeah?"

"Good job not dying."

"I try." And the Normandy took off. Behind it, a world burned.

 _Before anyone starts giving me any BS about 'oh, no-one could survive a Mass Effect jump like that', I would like to point out that this is ALEX FREAKING MERCER we're talking about here. Thank you._


	2. Chapter 2

_It's back! And now, we shall be seeing some more powers from Biomechanical! Alex. Sorry if this isn't as good as Hyliian's one, but GIMME A BREAK!_

The new marine, who was called James Vega, was shouting at Shepard. "You! You're a hero, and you're running away to Mars while Earth burns!" Shepard yelled right back at him, "I had no choice! Dying is not going to stop the Reapers, and it was all we could do to escape!" "Then you can drop me off at the nearest station, because I'm. Not. Leaving." And with that, he stalked away to the hold. Shepard looked slightly pleadingly at Alex. He grumbled. "Oh, fine, I'm going."

James was doing pull-ups when Alex walked in. James was a big man, tall and broad, but Alex knew that there was nothing the human marine could do should he decide to kill him. The thought was quite comforting. "Hi," he said, walking in with his usual air of not-bothered-ness.

"What do you want," grunted Vega, "I'm busy."

"Oh, just to talk," said Alex with the chilling smile that had made N7 commandos piss themselves and run for it. "I get bored sometimes, you know?"

"Like I said," grunted James, "I'm busy."

"So is Shepard," said Alex suddenly, going for the scare tactic. "Trying to stop the Reapers."

James dropped off the chin-up bar, rolling his shoulders. "I was born on Earth. That _bitch_ left my home to burn."

Alex stood up, slowly. "I was born on Earth, too. 'That bitch,' as you so eloquently put it, left my home to burn too. You don't hear me bitching about it, Vega." He looked up at the now clearly enraged marine. "Now you just go up there and apologise like a good boy. Go on, shoo." The dam broke. Vega launched himself at Alex, driving blows like piledrivers into his face. Alex was surprised. Those blows had…well, hurt wasn't the right word. Mildly itched might have been a better one. Still, even that was surprising. Vega was clearly strong. Vega swung one last punch at his head, and stepped back, panting. Alex gave a smile.

"My turn."

Doctor Chakwas looked with moderate disapproval at Alex. "It's good to have you back with us, Alex, but what did you do to that poor man?" Alex gave a sort-of smile slash grimace.

"I may have got a bit…carried away."

"Three broken ribs, two cases of severe internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, a broken nose, a broken jaw, and both shoulders dislocated."

"Like I said, I got carried away. "

The Kodiak swept down out of the sky, landing neatly on top of a hill. Alex went out first, his bio-armour fully grown. Shepard and Kaidan walked out of the Kodiak behind him. Kaidan whispered to Shepard. "I think I remember this guy. Zeus, right?"

"Yes." Shepard replied.

"He left me with a scar halfway down the left side of my face."

"I can see that."

"It hurts."

Alex spoke up. "Stop being a wimp." They came to the edge of a ridge, and Alex ducked down. "Cerberus. They're executing civilians." A gunshot came from over the ridge. Alex crawled forward. He then jumped over the ridge, and ran down the hill. There were seven screams, a volley of gunfire, and a gurgle. Alex walked back up the hill. "Well, come on!" The two human marines followed. Kaidan spoke up again.

"I don't think I like this guy."

"I assure you, the feeling is perfectly mutual, Mr Alenko," replied Alex evenly. They approached the compound. Eight Cerberus troopers were standing guard, backed up by an Atlas mech. Alex stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I think that you must be lost. This is Alliance territory." The Atlas mech stepped forward. "Remove yourself from the area." God, but that thing sounded stupid. Alex concentrated hard on the mech. His eye started glowing red. He'd realised that he might have this power when he had seen the Reapers invade Earth with their energy beam weapons. A beam of intense power blasted the mech into dust. The Cerberus troopers turned around, and ran. Another beam turned the unfortunate souls to atoms. Alenko ran up.

"Those troopers were harmless. They were on the retreat, they had dropped their weapons. What you just did is wrong on moral and ethical levels." He said.

"Look at my face," Alex replied, "Does it say I care?" Alenko looked at his face. It didn't say he cared.

They ran swiftly into the compound, firing on enemy squads as they went. Well, Shepard and Kaidan fired. Alex butchered. They ran forward, and spotted an Asari at the other end of the corridor. She had a heavy pistol, and was systematically shooting a squad of downed Cerberus troopers in the heads. Shepard stood up. "Liara?" The Asari turned, and smiled.

"Shepard! Good to see you again. When I heard about Earth, I thought…"

"Come on Liara, you know I'm harder to kill than that!" Grinned Shepard.

"I know, but…oh, hello Kaidan!"

"Good to see you too, Liara." Kaidan smiled, too.

Alex spoke up. "Ok, I'll just go kill something, shall I? Like the Cerberus agent hacking the main data terminal, perhaps?" Instantly, they all turned, goofy smiles knocked off their faces. "I thought you'd want to know."

The Cerberus agent ran through the base. She was fast, something she was glad of, much faster than the people chasing her. She ran out to the shuttle that was parked outside, and clambered in. She saw the two humans, the Asari, and the something run out onto the platform. They were too late. She would have smiled, had her facial servomotors permitted such an action. Then she turned around, looked out of the cockpit, and suddenly took a Kodiak to the face.

Alex watched and laughed as the two spacecraft smashed into each other. That was a good explosion. Out of the wreckage clambered a figure. It had once been human, or at least had looked human, but the thin veneer of synthetic human flesh had been burned away. Kaidan charged forward, a pair of omni-blades ready, but it simply picked him up and slammed him against the wall. Judging by the crack and the scream, it had slammed him hard. Shepard drew her pistol, and fired at it. Its kinetic barriers were too strong, and in three seconds it was going to reach her with a particularly vicious-looking omni-blade. Three seconds was enough. Alex stepped forward, and seized the thing mid-charge. It went limp, and a hologram Alex knew all too well sprung into being in the air above it. "Mercer," said the Illusive Man, "I now regret sending Shepard to pick you up."

"I missed you too, Timmy."

"I don't think you see the bigger picture."

"How can I when you're all up in my face?"

Timmy laughed derisively. "There is more at stake here than a few dead civilians! I have a grand plan, something you cannot even comprehend, and it is working. Except for one tiny hitch. It starts with A, and ends in lex Mercer."

"Well, I am good at being a hitch. Call me the virus in the ointment."

"Fool." And with that, Timmy disappeared.

"Well," said Shepard, "You have just made a massive and dangerous enemy."

"I know. Exciting, isn't it?"

 _It took me three hours of my life to get this done. If anyone says it's too short, I will hunt you down._


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm back! And more importantly, so is Alex. I do try to get these updates out as quick as I can, because I hate keeping everyone waiting. Unfortunately, there is a big problem, starting in h and ending in omework. Sorry, all. Especially you. Yes, you, with the face. And now, back to the story._

The Normandy hummed softly as its engines powered down, bringing it into spacedock. The crew had needed some shore leave, and Shepard had needed a meeting with the council to discuss the data they had found on Mars. It described a weapon, one that might very well be able to destroy Reapers. Alex wasn't allowed into the council chambers, but it was fairly easy to quickly consume the Salarian councillor'spersonal aide and sneak in. Shepard would be pissed later, he mused, at the same time as wishing he had chosen a male aide to consume. He got in just as the conversation turned interesting. "…is our best chance!" Shepard was yelling, clearly angry.

"We do not believe that you are thinking clearly. You suffered a very traumatic event on Earth, you saw a friend almost die on Mars, and we have seen on security cameras that you have enlisted some sort of monster to join your team." The Asari councillor spoke back.

"I'll have you know, Alex is a rare species, probably the last one of his kind." Alex beamed at Shepard's defence of him.

"Regardless, whatever _it_ is, it is doubtful we need that sort of help. It appears to be dangerously violent, possibly deranged, and bloodthirsty."

" _It_ is right here," said Alex, dropping the disguise and striding forward. The whole chamber froze. Alex suddenly grew his collector armour, just for the shock value. The Turian Councillor's aide passed out. Alex turned to Shepard, and grinned. "Well, I'd say we have two minutes before the whole of c-sec comes through those doors."

It took Shepard a while, but she eventually explained to c-sec about the incident and they avoided further reprisal. They then got an important message from the ship. As they walked aboard, they were greeted by the cold, familiar face of the android from Mars. Shepard went for her pistol, and Alex quickly grew his Collector armour. It then spoke. "Please cease trying to harm me. While this body appears hostile, it is now simply an avatar. I am in control." Alex cocked his head to one side, his armour melting into his usual hood.

"Edi? Is that you?"

"Affirmative. I utilised the android body found on Mars to upload my data into it. This body could accompany the ground team to areas where the Normandy cannot go."

"You mean be a part of the ground team?" Shepard asked.

"Affirmative, Commander Shepard. Also, James Vega is in the medbay. He wishes to see ZEUS."

Vega was indeed in the medbay, and did indeed want to see Alex. As Alex walked in, he practically exploded. "What the _hell_ did you do to me? All that happened was we were having a fight, and you half killed me!" His voice then dropped a few decibels. "So," he whispered, "How did you do it? Could you teach me?" Alex's only thought was: _wait, what?_

"Sure," he said, "is Tueday good?" He supposed he could get along with this guy.

Lola Shepard was waiting outside the door, with her omnitool ready to call security. Alex walked out. "So," she asked, "What happened?"

"Well, he's asked me to teach him a few moves, and then we might go get a drink."

"Not Ryncol?" There was a long silence.

"Dear Lord, no."

"Could I come?" Another long pause.

"Sure, why the hell not?"

In Alex's opinion, there were two types of packed. There was packed, and then there was _PACKED_. The club was both, and then some. The dance floor was heaving with bodies, people of all races. The tables were almost as full. There was maybe one table left. Shepard walked up to the bar, Alex and James in tow. The bartender turned his head. "All right, what'll it be, luv?"

"The strongest thing you've got that isn't Ryncol." James walked off, probably to get the last table. Alex had got a pair of not-bio-armour sunglasses to hide his cybernetic eye, and as the bartender brought the drinks over, James returned with a few Marines in tow.

"Hi! I met these guys over there, and told them I was here with Commander Shepard. Hey, barkeep! Three more drinks, quick as you can." The three Marines came up, and shook Shepard's hand.

"Hey, Commander," said one of them, his face shining with adoration, "it's an honour to meet you. Corporal Somers, 317th marines."

"Lola Shepard."

"Oh, I know your name. _Everyone_ knows your name." The barkeep then arrived with their drinks. Somers spoke again. "What's the bet on me being able to out-drink Commander Shepard?"

Lola Shepard hauled herself out of bed. She recalled drinking. A lot of drinking. Way too much drinking. There was a groan from the bed behind her, and she froze. She turned her head slowly, and saw James Vega haul himself out of the double bed in her cabin. The bed she had been sleeping in as well. Then he saw her. There was silence. _Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit._ She spoke. "This never happened. You hear me? It NEVER HAPPENED. If anyone finds out about this, I will never live it down. And also, it means nothing. I was pissed as a fart. Also, we don't even know if we did." She dredged slightly further through the befuddled quagmire of her memories of last night. "Oh shit, we did." There was a slight click. Alex was standing over them. In his hand was an omnitool.

"One for the album, lovebirds?" He clicked the button, and a picture flashed up on screen. "Right, that's going on the extranet." He proceeded out of the door, chortling softly. James looked at Lola. Lola looked at James. James, knowing what was coming, covered his ears. And Lola exploded.

"ALEX MERCER, YOU _DIE_ FOR THIS!"

Outside, Alex listened to her yell. He looked at the omnitool. And he moved the picture over to the delete file. It disappeared. He grinned. Christ, he was going soft. Of course, there was no reason for Shepard to know that. No reason at all.

 _And that is the end of the chapter. (More than a thousand words, hope you're happy) I just want everyone to know that this is not going to turn into a romance. Absolutely not. No. Nuh-uh. I just had ideas, and unhappy readers who wanted long chapters, and a lot of corners I had to write myself out of. No romance. This was just a filler, or whatever they're called. Also, Alex may be going soft. Strange._


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello, everyone. I just want to tell you all that CDC: Resurrection is off the menu for the immediate future. (Or the less immediate future, depending on how much my writing skills improve.) I was just getting sooooooooooooooo much flak for not writing to a high enough standard, or whatever the hell. So, CDC: Resurrection is offline. I am not discontinuing it, just stopping doing it for a few months until I become better at writing about this stuff. However, I am working on another story, pure Mass Effect this time, to ease the pain._


End file.
